“We continue to increase the vast qualitative and
technological advantage over our neighbors," said Defense
Minister Moshe Ya’alon at the launch at a test site in central
Israel, Israeli media reported.

“Our ability to continuously reach new levels of
accomplishment, as with this launch, is what allows us to live a
productive and prosperous life. Blessed is the state, and its
people.”

Ofek 10 is the seventh Israeli satellite currently in space, and
the first launched by the Defense Ministry since its predecessor,
Ofek 9, four years ago.

But it functions in a fundamentally new way – instead of
automatically sweeping through vast swathes of territory with its
cameras, it can momentarily switch between different locations.

This is due to the fact that its operators can alter the orbit of
the 330 kilogram satellite between 400 kilometers and 600
kilometers from the Earth’s surface in its 90-minute
circumnavigation of the planet, while zooming in to take
high-resolution images of objects as small as 18 inches across.

"The satellite has exceptional photographic ability,"
said Ofer Doron, CEO of the Israel Aerospace Industries' Space
Division, which was responsible for developing the satellite.
"It's designed to deliver very precise, high quality images
under all conditions."

Of these nations, Iran poses the greatest threat to security in
the eyes of Israeli officials, who have repeatedly insisted that
Tehran is on the verge of developing a prototype nuclear weapon.
Israel also says it plans to use the new satellite to monitor
hostile militant groups, presumably such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

In fact, for security reasons, Israel launches its satellites to
the west, and not to the east, sacrificing payload, but making
sure that no technologically sensitive debris fall on the
territory of its rivals, particularly if any satellite fails to
reach orbit and plunges to Earth.

But Ofek 10 avoided this fate, and has already begun relaying
visuals and information from orbit. It is expected to become
fully operational within three months.